Shovel foot-rest.



M. T. BRADLEY.

SHOVEL FOOT REST.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.25, 1915.

Wiiwemo a 4 Q ,nrcHAEL a; BRADLEY, or sron nnnj WASHINGTON.

SHUVEL FOOT-REST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 4, 1916.

Application. filed January 25, 1915. Serial No. 4,259.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MIoHAEL T. BRADLEY, a citizen of-the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of VVa-shington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shovel Foot-Rests, of which the following is a specificatio This invention relates to improvements in foot rests for shovels of that character in which the rest is formed of a generally U shaped strip of metal having an intermediate foot engaging portion and provided with front and rear flanges or attaching portions for engagement with the shovel blade.

The invention consists in providing a rear attaching portion forflat abutting relation against the rear face of the-blade, the said guard body or rest having aresilient front attaching portion with an. indented end presenting a convex boss for engagement with the front face of the shovel blade so as thereby to localize the area of contact forznity and contour of the back attaching portion with respect to the contour of the blade.

()ther objects and features of the invention will be more fully described in connec, tion with the accompanying drawing and will .be more particularly pointed out in and b the appended claim.

. In the-drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one type of shovel illustratingthe" application thereto of one form of my invention; Fig 2 is a perspective view of the foot-rest detached from the shovel. Fig

3 is a sectionah view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.\'

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

My improved foot-rest comprises a body of substantially chanhel formation provided with a relatively broad web 1 and front and rear flanges 2 and 3. The rear flange or attaching portion 3, and likewise the web 1,

are arched transversely as indicated at 4:,

and hold the guard body firmly in place on? the blade irrespective of any lack of conthe operator. Furthermore, the rest 1 overhangs the blade, preferably forwardly there" of, in sucha manner as to permit the rear attaching portion 3 to abut the rear face in flat relation.

. It is a distinct feature of this invention. to provide a rest which is actually supported upon the upper edge 7, of the blade 6, so that the rest portion 1 will effectively be supported against tilting or teetering movemerit in the plane of-the blade, by reason of the thrust applied by the operator It is also a feature of the invention to form the rest of resilient material, or in some cases to temper the attaching portion 2 so that the spring action of the latter will hold the rest securely in the position shown in F ig. 3. By means of this'arrangement, the rest will not only be readily detached from the blade, but when attached thereto, it will be securely held in position.

As a means of eifectinga maximum security of anchorage, I punch or otherwise indent the front. attaching portion, as indicated at 8, forming a convex boss to en gage the blade so as to localize the pressure area and thereby obtain a more secure engagement.

At the juncture of the handle socket '9, with the blade 6, there is usually a slight opening which I utilize in connection with means such as a prongilO, formed by bending a portion of the rest 1, downwardly. Insertion of the prong 10 into the opening will serve to hold the feet against displacement/in either of two directions longitudinally of the upp r edge 7'. 4

'My improved a tachment is of such a character that the perator may readily ,d'e

tach it from the shovel and carry it in his pocket, to prevent loss, but in' cases where equipment of this character is furnished, to the operators, my improved attachment is designed and constructed to so effectively stood from the foregoing description and while I have herein shown and described one specific form of my invention, I do not wishto be limited thereto except for such- 110 limitations as the claim may import.

[I claim: In a foot rest or guard for grip the blade as to prevent any ordinary shovels, a guard body having a top foot rest portion adapted to engage the upper edge of the shovel blade and having a rear attaching portion for flat abutting relation against the rear face of said scoop, said body having a resilient front attaching portion provided With an indented end presenting a convex boss for contact with the front face of the shovel to localize the area of contact and thereby hold 10 the guard body firmly in place on the blade irrespective of lack of conformity in contour of the back attaching portion with respect to the contour of the blade substain tially as described.-

In testimony whereof I affix my signa- 15 ture in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL T. BRADLEY. Witnesses H. E. SMITH, EDNA BRAYLES. 

